Rudi Völler shared his views on the quarter-final exit in the Europa League with the kicker. "We hoped for more, particularly in this competition. We lost to a very good team and we knew it would be difficult before the game," said the 60-year-old after the German-Italian clash in Düsseldorf. "But our performance, it's as clear as daylight, did not match our ability. We'll talk about it and analyse it. We put up a good fight but a couple of players looked inhibited."
Bayer 04 announced good news a few days after the end of the season for the Werkself: The contract with Karim Bellarabi has been extended by two years to 30 June 2023. In signing the deal, the Black and Reds have retained the second-longest serving Leverkusen player after the skipper Lars Bender – Bellarabi joined in 2011 from Eintracht Braunschweig. The 30-year-old winger has scored 31 goals and provided 44 assists in 169 Bundesliga games.
The former Werkself number one Bernd Leno has married his girlfriend Sophie-Christin after the wedding planned for early summer was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 28-year-old wrote 'Mr and Mrs Leno' under a wedding photo posted on Instagram.
Bayer 04 brought Leno in on loan for half a season from VfB Stuttgart in the summer of 2011 and then signed him on permanent terms. The Germany keeper was at Leverkusen until 2018 when he followed the call of the Premier League and joined Arsenal. Friday, 14 August will be the ninth anniversary of Leno making his Bundesliga debut for the Werkself; the 1.89 metre keeper kept a clean sheet in the 1-0 home win against Werder Bremen. Bayer 04 say: Congratulations on your wedding!
Four former Werkself players made their debut for Leverkusen on 13 August – albeit in different years. Bum-kun Cha, now 67 years old, played for the Black and Reds for the first time in 1983, won the UEFA Cup in 1988 and then retired the following year. A certain Rüdiger Vollborn made his debut for Bayer 04 at the same time as Cha. The goalkeeper went on to play for Leverkusen for 17 years and, to this day, he has a record number of Bundesliga appearances for Bayer 04 (401).
On 13 August 1994, Markus Münch, signed from Bayern Munich, made his debut for Leverkusen. The now 47-year-old stayed for two seasons before returning to FC Bayern. Exactly five years after Münch, a certain Michael Ballack made his first appearance for the Werkself. The playmaker stayed for three years but returned in 2010 to Leverkusen after playing for Bayern Munich and Chelsea. He ended his playing career at the Werkself in 2012.
Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
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Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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At the training camp in the Weimarer Land region, Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez and his long-standing assistant Pol García talk about their first few weeks with the Werkself, their expectations of their own work, the coaching staff and the squad, as well as the style of football they want the team to play. They emphasise the importance of a winning mentality within the team, comment on cultural and personal differences in the world of football, and outline their goals for the coming season...
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